Cloti Week 2017
by sanctum-c
Summary: A selection of prompt fills for Cloti Week on tumblr. Stargazing: Tifa and Cloud get to see the stars closer than ever.
1. Removing Language Barriers

_Written for the prompt 'Letters'_

* * *

Tifa had been considering the project for the last month or so. Additional chalkboards were easy to obtain, but finding the time to get started was much trickier. In the end the opportunity came on the spur of the moment; a quieter than usual afternoon in the Seventh Heaven. No customers and no restocks to worry about. The weather was likely a factor since the heavy rain kept Marlene and Denzel inside and their regular customers elsewhere. Tifa seized the opportunity to turn her idea into a family activity. A shame Cloud wasn't here too. She could wait, but- "Okay kids. We're going to re-write the menus."

"Re-write?" Marlene stared at her aghast. "You're changing the food?"

Tifa smiled and shook her head. "Not like that." Marlene relaxed. "I thought we could write them out again in different languages."

Denzel frowned. "I thought everyone spoke the same?"

"Shinra used to like to try and enforce that. That was... It was a bad time. People like their heritage, and with Shinra gone, it feels a good time to embrace the possibility of expressing it again." A pat on Denzel's shoulder and she retrieved the chalkboards, heaving them from the back of the bar and down onto one of the tables. "As more and more people come to Edge, I think it would be nice if they could read our menus easily. Most people can speak standard, but I'm not convinced everyone can read it."

"Tifa? I can't write anything but standard?" Marlene viewed the boards with apprehension.

"Not a problem." Tifa retrieved the five sheets of paper she had been making notes on. "Here are all the menus written out in each language. All you have to do is copy them exactly as I wrote them. The original menu will stay as it is." She held up the first sheet. "Who wants to do Wutainess?"

Marlene volunteered to write out the menu for Yuffie's homeland; Denzel took the Corel version. He watched Marlene as she started copying the characters. "Feels like you should do this one."

"But I don't even remember being there," Marlene replied, focused on her own writing. Unsure how to answer that, Denzel got on with his board. The two kids wrote neatly and accurately as Tifa wrote out her own board. She could fix any mistakes later, but so far everything the kids had done was fine to go straight on display. Marlene peered at the different, flowing script Tifa wrote in once she hit the mid-way mark of the Wutai menu. "What's that one?"

"A surprise," she told Marlene. "You'll find out later." Not a satisfying answer, but there was someone else she wanted to see her efforts first. Denzel finished the Corel menu a little ahead of Marlene's Wutainese version. Three menus down; Tifa helped with both the Mideel and Northern variants. "I think I would have included a Cetran version; if Aeris had been able to teach me," Tifa murmured.

"But could anyone even read that?" Denzel paused in his work to look at her.

"Probably not." Tifa sighed and smiled back at him. "But I try to include her if I can." Rewriting the boards was not as arduous a task as she expected - especially with the three of them working together. No reason to delay putting them on display. They took down the various framed photos on the Seventh Heaven's walls; she would worry about where they would wind up later. A short piece of work with a power-drill and the new as inclusive as possible menus were up on the wall. "Anything we missed, we'll add later."

"You should write Seventh Heaven on all of them too!" Marlene bounced on her heels. "Can we do that too?"

"Shouldn't we leave something for Cloud?" Tifa smiled.

Marlene stopped bouncing. "Yeah. I guess," she said with an exaggerated sigh.

"Tell you what; you can help me write out the words for him." Marlene grinned. The afternoon wiled away as Marlene called out questions about letter arrangement and glyph use, Tifa answering as best she could. Marlene became frustrated on a semi-regular basis with conditional shifts of glyphs, pronunciations and meanings, but with Tifa's help at last rendered five versions of the bar's name. Including one very special one that Tifa continued to refuse to discuss any further. The weather improved as the day wore on and the bar became busier.

Cloud arrived home not long after the last few stragglers left and Tifa had little left to do with clean up. Good. He was much better at keeping regular hours these days and gave little indication he was about to rush off on his own again. Life was getting easier post-Meteor. "Hey."

"Hi Cloud." Tifa set down the glass she was drying as he approached.

Cloud pulled his goggles off, only noticing the menus when he was half-way across the bar. "You re-did the menu?" He blinked and wandered closer to the chalkboards.

"Kinda." She leant on the bar.

He smiled. "Oh. You translated them."

"Yep. So no matter who our customer is they can see what food we have."

Cloud nodded. "I like it." He studied each menu in turn and stopped at the last. Her chalkboard. He stared at it for a long moment. "Is that- It is. That's Nibel." He glanced at her and she nodded. "Wow. I haven't seen that since-" He hurried over to the bar. "Tifa that's amazing."

"I know there weren't many survivors, but-" Tifa took his hand as he leant against the bar.

"-but anyone else who came from our town originally can read it." He looked at the board one more time and then back to her. "I love it."

"Best tribute to our home town - our real home town - I could think of," she murmured.

"You really are amazing." Cloud kissed her, a quick peck on the lips that she ensured went on longer than he might have intended. She stroked her hand through his blonde spikes as the kiss continued. Cloud panted as he pulled away a moment later. "Need a hand with anything down here?"

"Bar's sorted." Tifa grinned at him. "We can head up to bed whenever you're ready..."


	2. Rescue Mission

_Written for the prompt 'fireworks'_

* * *

Tifa woke with a gasp, searching frantically for the stranger in black, for where his next blow would come from. He was nowhere in sight and- And she was no longer in the church. Cloud turned from the window as she pushed herself into a sitting position; they were in Marlene and Denzel's room for some reason. "The Turks brought us back," he said in something close to a monotone. "They're out looking for the kids." He fumbled with something, pacing back and forth until he pushed a phone into her hands; he had highlighted Barret's name on the screen. "Please. I can't."

She started to protest she relented and made the call. Barret swore as she explained the situation and tried to assure him as best she could. It did not seem to help; he insisted he would be in Edge by morning. Tifa promised to keep him updated and with a twinge of regret disconnected the call. Now what? She bit her lip; Cloud had gone back to pacing. Did she want her suspicion confirmed? Avoiding it was futile; she had to ask him. "You... you have Geostigma don't you?" Cloud came to a stop and stared out the window. "Don't you?" she repeated. He turned to stare at her, neither confirming nor denying her assertion. She patted the bed. "Please. Just... sit." A longer pause and he sat on the bed beside her. "So is it true?" Cloud stared at the floor.

"Tifa, I-" He swallowed. "There's no cure for it."

As much of an admission as she would get. The bandages at the church had indeed been his; the plague had struck close to home once more. "That doesn't mean you get to give up. Denzel's still here." A stab of guilt. "Was here-" And she and Marlene left him here despite his Geostigma, despite his pain, all so they could visit Aeris's church on a whim. What kind of guardian was she? Not the time; she would atone for her actions later. "Cloud? Please don't run away anymore. We can help each other." She reached for his hand.

Cloud pulled away and clenched his fists in his lap. "I'm not fit to help anyone."

"Yes, you are." Tifa touched his arm. "But... If you really don't feel you can, then you can stay here. I am going to get Denzel and Marlene back no matter what." She pulled her own PHS from her pocket and dialed Reno's number. A piercing ringtone sounded from the hallway.

"I'm right here!" Reno sounded annoyed through the door. He pushed inside the bedroom, Rude and Elena a step behind him. "No patience these two," he remarked to his companions as he tucked his phone away.

"Did you find them?" Tifa demanded.

Reno smiled that same cock-sure smile he wore so often. "Not quite. But we found a witness. Said witness saw a guy with long, silver hair taking a truck full of kids to the North." The grin faded a little. "Guy was convinced Sephiroth was back out of hiding and into kidnapping for some reason. But we know that this guy he saw, well, he ain't Sephiroth, but the comparison is not unwarranted."

Elena held up her hands as Tifa started to protest. "We do at least know where they went. I got a call from another eye-witness; he saw another guy with silver hair entering the City of the Ancients. Unfortunately we lost contact with him a little while later. We can't be sure if they're still there."

Reno's gaze flicked between Tifa and Cloud. "Now, why oh why, would our Sephiroth fanboy gang be taking your kids back to the place?"

"It doesn't matter. We need to get going," Tifa said as Reno murmured something about once a Turk, always as Turk to Elena. "They're hours ahead of us. What can we- Cid!" She fumbled for her phone and called the pilot's number. "You prepared to help us?" she asked Reno.

He glanced at Rude and Elena. "Should check in with the boss, but-" Another grin. "No need to see him in person." He shrugged. "Guess we can tag along if you want our help."

"Thank you." Tifa turned away as Elena protested and Cid answered the phone. "Caught me at a good time!" he shouted over the roar of airship engines as she related what happened. "I'm in Junon with Reeve. I'll get Shera to pick up the brat and Nanaki and meet us up North. Not sure on Vinnie-"

"He's there already," Tifa interrupted; Elena had all but spelled out that he made the call to them and now might now be in trouble too. "Try and pick up Barret too; he's near the mythril mines then let us know when you get here."

"Got it."

Tifa snapped her phone closed. "Cloud?" He had been staring at the floor ever since the three Turks arrived. "I need to get going. Our friends are coming to help us. You might not think you're fit to help anyone, but I still believe in you." She crouched beside him. "If you come, we'll- I'll be there if anything like last time happens. We're all still here aren't we?"

"But things went wrong before," he murmured.

She took his hand. "I know. We might not be able to do anything or something will happen that can never be undone." Tifa placed her other hand over his. "That scares me too. But we need to accept what's going on right now and I want to try and help Marlene and Denzel. I think you want do too."

Cloud glanced at her and swallowed, but remained silent. If he took any longer then she would need to leave him behind. "I'll come," he said in a quiet voice. "If you're okay with me being there, I'll come." Tifa smiled.

Hard to sit still while the airship was in flight; Tifa was soon pacing alongside Cloud. Cid had arrived on the outskirts of Edge barely an hour after the call with a furious Barret in tow. The Turks gave him a wide berth and wandered to the other end of the airship; Tifa and Cloud stayed but left him alone as he glared out of the front. Fenrir was in the hold, but was far from a good choice to rescue Marlene and Denzel with let alone the other children reported missing. They would need the Shera.

As they approached Bone Village Cid suggested Cloud scout on ahead and send a flare up when they found their quarry's location. Cloud seemed on the verge of refusing until Tifa took his hand and volunteered to go with him. Her words seemed to ease him somewhat; that was how she wound up with a flare-gun tucked into her waistband and heading out on Fenrir with Cloud. She tightened her arms around him as the bike roared through the Sleeping Forest.

Whatever enchantment once allowed them passage through the cursed woodland was still in effect and they sped through without issue. The trees blurred in the gloom; Cloud tensed as they reached the edge of the city and he jerked his head to one side, murmured something and fell silent. "Didn't catch that?" Tifa shouted above the roar of the engine.

"They're dead ahead," Cloud replied in a louder voice and twisted the accelerator. How did he know that? Another question for later. They shot straight through the city and into the great crystalline forest at its heart. The sight of the glowing trunks made it difficult to ignore what transpired the last time they came here- Cloud swore and the next thing Tifa knew, she was tumbling from Fenrir alongside Cloud. The bike toppled over, momentum keeping it moving forward and towards a group of children headed by Denzel and Marlene; they stood right in the bike's path. Tifa reached for them, opening her mouth to call out- At the last moment, the leader of the group - Kadaj - vaulted the spinning bike as if it were nothing and kicked the vehicle away from the kids.

"Glad you could make it!" Kadaj called out in an overly cheerful, if somewhat threatening tone. He sounded manic, barely in control of himself. Kadaj frowned down at Tifa. "I don't recall inviting you." Behind him, the man from the church rested one foot on Fenrir and glared down at the vehicle. "Only those Mother calls are to participate in Reunion."

"Guess I'm crashing the party," Tifa muttered as Kadaj stepped closer. She felt behind her back; where was the flare-gun?"

"We're here for the kids," Cloud said and drew Kadaj's attention away from her. Tifa patted along her waist more frantically; the flare-gun was gone. She must have dropped it when the bike went over. Now what? Kadaj stalked around them, ranting something about Cloud being his brother. Think! The scrape of metal on metal chilled her blood. Kadaj had drawn his sword; a strange double-bladed katana. Too much like his sword- Tifa glanced around in a panic. There had to be something. Anything. Vincent, the Turks, Cid- There. Behind the other two silver-haired men was the chest of materia from the church. Now to hope they had not taken too much.

Cloud lashed out at Kadaj and Tifa took that as a cue to get moving. She sprinted for the materia crate and the man from the church smirked as she approached. His companion did not think her a threat it seemed; he leaped to an impossible height over her head, his gun firing with echoing cracks. Not at her. Cloud. Should she try and distract the third man? No. They needed reinforcements more than anything.

She was not about to give the man from the church the satisfaction of fighting her again; she sprinted right past him to his surprise. Tifa skirted the lake shoreline and headed for the beach in front of the gigantic shell-like building. She flung herself at the chest and wrenched it open; she could not have more than seconds to choose from the selection inside. Cure? Not now. Lightning? Not quite right. There. Fire. Perfect.

Tifa flung herself into a backflip in the same moment the man plunged down towards her, his electrical attack missing her by a hair and vaporising the chest in an instant. Materia shot out from the resulting explosion, a few barely missing her head as she curved through the air. As Tifa landed on her feet again, the man leapt up to strike down at her once again. She gripped the materia and shot a fireball up into the night sky. It exploded above the treetops like a firework, smaller fireballs bursting from the larger explosion and raining down towards the forest as Tifa flung herself back again.

The man landed a second after her and began to laugh. "Wasted opportunity," he chortled with a shake of his head.

"Who said I was aiming for you?" Tifa shot back as she assumed a fighting stance. The sound of the Shera's propellers was already audible. Avalanche were coming.


	3. Sky Rescues Princess Lifa by MW (9 soon)

Once upon a time the beautiful Princess Lifa of Niflheim was kidnapped by the Evil Zefiroth. Her father King Rockhart was very sad because the princess had been taken far away. He told all his knights they could marry the princess if they rescued her. All the knights tried to reach the Evil Zefiroth's Evil Fortress but they all failed. Now there was no one in their kingdom who could save Princess Lifa. Just as everything seemed lost, an orphan boy called Sky Tribal came to the Kingdom of Niflheim. He had heard the princess was beautiful and wanted to save her. He also wanted to marry Princess Lifa.

The king laughed at Sky. He could not possibly save the princess. Unlike most knights who tried, Sky was small and shy. But he begged the king to try and his advisor Loofus said he should. He told King Rockhart in private that there was no way the orphan could save the princess. The King agreed Sky could try but did not think he would succeed but also hoped he did to get the princess back. But Sky could not marry the princess because he was not a prince. Sky said he wanted to save her anyway.

Sky was new to the land and did not know where the Evil Fortress was. He went into the town and asked people about it. All the townsfolk laughed when he told them he was going to rescue the princess. A girl who was nine years old and called Larlene believed in Sky and she took him to meet her father Garret. He went with Sky to meet Lizzie and her friends called Landslide in the tavern. They all secretly wanted to rescue the princess as well because she was secretly helping them secretly fight the evil wizard Loofus who secretly ran the kingdom from the shadows. Sky wanted to fight him, but Landslide said he was too powerful when the princess was not there.

Garret took Sky to meet the blacksmith who was called Dack. He gave Sky a magic sword to help fight monsters and the Evil Zefiroth with. Then they took him to meet the head librarian who was a talking cat called Deneh. Deneh told him how he could cross the dessert. He kept telling people he knew how to get to the Evil Fortress but no one would listen. Sky thanked Deneh for his help and the secret to crossing the dessert. Wiggs and Bedge from Landslide helped Sky reach the edge of the kingdom and the dessert.

The dessert was difficult to cross as people kept getting stuck in the treacle on the top. Other people got hungry as they crossed it and starting eating the treacle and got tooth ache and died. Some people drowned as under the treacle was a layer of soft chocolate and then a layer of ice cream. Deneh told Sky there might be other layers even deeper but no one had been brave or hungry enough to find out and the dentists would be upset with them. There was no toothpaste in the dessert. He told Sky the secret to crossing the dessert was to jump on the marshmallows floating on the top. Then he wouldn't get stuck. Later he could use them to cross the cream rivers. If he swam through, the guard cats of the Evil Fortress would smell him and eat him.

Sky avoided the treacle and jumped between the marshmallows. Some monsters lived on the marshmallows, but the magic sword he got from Dack defeated them easily. In the middle of the dessert he met the dessert witch. Her name was Eris and she lived all alone in the dessert. She used to live in Dorel, but the evil Loofus banished her to the dessert. She also told Sky that Loofus created the Evil Zefiroth to distract the king until he could marry Lifa and take over the kingdom.

Eris could not go with Sky, but she was able to give him a magic spell that would transport him back to Niflheim. Sky thanked her and continued on his way. He kept on jumping across the marshmallows and over the cream river. The guard cats did not eat him when he reached the other side and purred really loudly when he scratched their chins. The guard cats did not like Zefiroth much and Sky promised to take them back with him.

At long last, Sky was standing at the entrance to the Evil Fortress. He fought through the castle as hundreds of enemies attacked. But thanks to the magic sword he could easily defeat them. At the very top of the castle was Zefiroth with Lifa in a cage. He laughed when he saw Sky and asked him how such a weakling could hope to defeat him. But Lifa could see he was actually her childhood friend from when she was younger. As Zefiroth laughed, she kicked open the door of her cage.

Zefiroth was shocked. Lifa used her martial arts on Zefiroth while Sky hit him with his magic sword. Zefiroth tried to ask how Lifa could be so strong, but she kept kicking him until he fell over dead. Sky asked Lifa the same question and she said that Loofus had given her a potion to stop her using her martial arts. Lifa was really pleased to see Sky after all this time and wanted to kiss him, but they had to get married first so she had to wait. Sky wanted to kiss Lifa too but knew the same thing but he was sad because they could not get married.

Outside Sky sent one guard cat to rescue Eris from the middle of the dessert and used the spell to send him and Lifa and the rest of the cats back to Niflheim. They appeared in the throne room of King Rockhart's castle. Loofus was there. Before he could do anything Sky and Lifa defeated him and the king came to his senses. Loofus was banished to the centre of the dessert to live in Eris's old house with the guard cats keeping an eye on him.

Princess Lifa was upset as she wanted to get married to Sky but he wasn't a prince. But Eris asked Deneh a question about Sky's parents and he realised that Sky was a prince whose family had been killed by Loofus. So Lifa could get married to him. King Rockhart was happy to let Lifa marry Sky and they all lived happily ever after.

* * *

Tifa smiled as she started reading Marlene's homework. The smile turned into a grin as she reached the mid-point. Hopefully Barret and Marlene okayed this being photocopied and mailed around to Avalanche. Shame a few people didn't make it into the story, but they'd still get a kick out if. She handed Cloud the sheet of paper once he was home and refused to explain any further. Cloud read with a dubious expression that soon became wide-eyed blinking. He paused about half-way through. "She's misspelled desert."

"Has she?"

Cloud glanced at her. "I think?"

Tifa nodded at the paper. "Keep reading."

Cloud chuckled some moments later.


	4. Junon Beach

Tifa blinked up at the blue sky. Odd to see it now from the Junon beach. The upper city had been slowly stripped back over the last few years. The structure would never be completely gone - too many people clung to their homes up there. But the major facilities, the landing strips and transport hubs were relocated to the mountain behind the city. The lower city lived anew. Down at the shoreline Priscilla splashed around in the surf with Mr. Dolphin as he swam through the water. Tifa reached for Cloud's hand and together they enjoyed a moment of peace.


	5. Unexpected Help

"Sephiroth!" Zack's voice echoed along the passageway as he ran after the other SOLDIER. Cloud stumbled to a halt a few paces from the lab door and slumped to the ground. Everything was going wrong; his hero changed almost beyond all recognition. Sephiroth had been acting strangely ever since his arrival in Nibelheim, but it had only gotten worse since that secretive trip into the Mount Nibel reactor. Since he found the secret passage to the corridors beneath the Shinra mansion. Since he found the library and the lab. Until finally today something changed; something alien had looked out through Sephiroth's green eyes. "Cloud!" The radio on his belt crackled with Zack's voice. "Cloud, get up here. The town's on fire! Sephiroth-" A burst of static and the radio went silent.

"Zack?" Cloud clicked the radio. No response. "Dammit." He pushed himself to his feel, scowling as he did so. What could he even do now? What good would he be to Mom or Tifa against someone like Sephiroth, the pinnacle of the SOLDIER program? Nothing fazed Sephiroth; that dragon they encountered on the way here fell to one sword-blow. No. He had to do something. Anything. Mom was mom. And Tifa he had promised to help. He thumped his fist against the wooden door set into the wall.

"Such commotion." Cloud froze at the smooth voice. They had all tried and failed to open the locked door in the weeks Sephiroth spent down here. But somehow there was someone in there. "Who raps upon the door of my tomb this night?"

Cloud blinked and backed away from the door. "Who's there?"

"I believe I asked your name first; common courtesy is to introduce yourself first, no?" The voice paused. "Is time too pressing?" An urgency entered the voice's tone. "Was I dreaming or did I hear his name called in my presence?"

"You mean Sephiroth?" The air chilled in the ensuing silence.

"Yes," the voice hissed.

"You did. He's here, he's attacking the town."

"Lucrecia's child yet lives." Silence. No, not quite. Something was moving in that room. Wood scraped against wood and footsteps echoed on stone. "He must now know the truth of his creation." The voice was getting angrier. "He is too much like his father."

"What-" The radio interrupted him with a fresh crackle of static.

"Cloud, you need to get out here now." Zack sounded panicked. "Sephiroth is heading for reactor. He's- She's-" He made a strangled noise. "Cloud, Tifa's gone after him. I'm-" The radio crackled and fell silent.

Cloud's heart hammered in his chest. "I need to help Tifa." He managed two steps before the voice sounded louder than ever.

"A friend? How noble." The voice chuckled.

"I made a promise and I need to keep it." Cloud ran for the stairs. Another two steps and something clicked behind him. He stopped, unable to move. The door creaked and despite every desire to keep on moving, every certainty that he should resist, Cloud glanced over his shoulder. The door swung open, surges of flowing ragged red fabric curling around the door-frame. Glinting metal, black leather, black hair. And in the centre of the mass was a pale figure; paler than any man Cloud had ever seen.

"I have atoned for my crimes long enough." The man's eyes narrowed. "Now my sleep is interrupted, I dare not allow another crime to be committed as a result of my own." He stalked forward; all Cloud could do was stare. "My name is Vincent Valentine. I will aid you."

* * *

Cloud did not even enough time to take in the full horror of the flame-wreathed town before Vincent grabbed his uniform with what looked like a metal claw. An agonised glimpse of his house on fire. Mom- The next thing he knew he was hurtling through the air. Cloud tried to look back through the rippling folds of Vincent's cloak; already the town was too distant. She would be okay. She had to be. Mom might even not have been home.

The ground rushed up to meet the pair of them, Vincent barely reacting as he smashed into the ground on both feet. With a heave they jumped up again, Vincent's leaps covering, vast, absurd distances. Each impact rattled Cloud's teeth, but he said nothing. Was that Zack glimpsed between one jump and the next? No time. They reached the reactor in a matter of moments. No sign of Sephiroth or Tifa. Was she already inside? Cloud dashed for the door, Vincent on his heels.

The scream of anguish sent Cloud skidding to a halt for a moment and then he ran with all his might. Tifa. His heart lurched at the sight of her slumped form below him. She was crying. Relief followed by a sinking feeling in his stomach. Tifa was kneeling above the prostrate form of her father, the Masamune jutting out from the floor beside him. A moment later she muttered to herself as she staggered to her feet. "Your friend desires vengeance," Vincent said.

"We need to stop her." How could he get down to her? The walkway that should be there was missing-

"I leave that to you. I am needed ahead." He grabbed Cloud's uniform again and the reactor blurred as they darted forward. Tifa whirled in surprise, the Masamune clutched in her hands.

"Shinra," she spat. "You-" Cloud tore his helmet off. Tifa's expression softened. "Cloud?"

"Tifa." He took a deep breath as her arms trembled. "Don't do it."

"Revenge does not suit one such as you," Vincent remarked as he strode past her. "Save yourself while you still can." He paused and turned back to her. "This one made a promise to you. Take this moment to mourn your loved ones and then leave this place." He glanced at Cloud. "Leave Hojo's spawn to me." Vincent muttered the last few words through clenched teeth as his skin darkened. His body grew bulkier, his hands clasping in on themselves as his nails extended. "I thank you for this opportunity."

Vincent vanished into the next chamber as Tifa let the sword drop to the floor. "You- You came for me," she murmured.

"Sorry I was late," Cloud replied scratching his head.

Tifa shook her head. Somewhere ahead what sounded like an animal attack preceded a panicked shout as a struggle began. Glass shattered and the fight grew louder. Tifa slumped down beside her father's body; Cloud reached out to touch her shoulder. Tifa grabbed his hand and clung to him as she sobbed. He embraced her, stroking her hair as she mourned. When Zack arrived all he did was nod to Cloud before rushing past and into the maelstrom of conflict beyond.


	6. Stargazing

_Written for the prompt 'Stargazing'_

* * *

Tifa clutched Cloud's hand as the rumbling intensified, as the walls reverberated and the deck juddered under her feet. Vibrations ran through the padded seats as she glanced at Cloud. He looked pale and stared dead ahead. The second time was not easier than the first it seemed. Or was he nervous because of that experience the first time around? Ahead of her Cid glanced over his shoulder at the two of them and smirked. "Ready for this?" His voice crackled over the headset.

"Is is too later to back out now?" Cloud asked. Despite being sat right beside her the noise in the cabin drowned out anything except the intercoms.

"Seriously?" Cid glared at him. Cloud shook his head and CId looked at her. "How about you? Still want to go through with this?"

Tifa nodded and Cid spouted some jargon on the radio channel. A confirmation from the ground crew and then pressure. The noise became louder and a crushing force slammed her back into her seat. Nothing visible ahead of them but endless blue sky. Were they moving? They should be ascending from the launch pad at Rocket Town, but from here she had no way to tell. When did the blue fade into black?

Hard to believe they were here. Two years after development resumed on the space program and the project got something close to back on track. As much as he tried to hold even this world together, Reeve had long since had his eye on a more distant future. Probably helped that Cid bent his ear back more then once about the possibilities offered by space flight and exploration. Maybe it had been Reeve's idea alone. No matter; they were here and present at the launch of the Shinra-28; the start of a new era.

A pity the rattling and shaking were not conducive to this seeming like a good idea. Shera shouted something over the headseat, the detail lost in the cacophony. Was that bad? Cid roared something back, but then both of them seemed at least calm. Nothing exploded, they did not drop to the ground, but the pressure did not slacken. Tifa tightened her grip on Cloud's hand; he responded in kind.

And then- The pressure lessened with degrees, though a new worry accompanied it; they were tipping. No longer was the rocket pointed straight up, but they were tilting back on themselves. If this continued, they would fall out of the sky or shoot right back to the ground and a messy ending.

Somehow they did not fall. And somehow the tilting stopped. The rattling faded and the roar of the engines quietened. A constant chatter between Cid, Shera and the ground crew became audible. Somewhat comforting; everything seemed to have gone as planned and as expected. If the times they quoted were to believed the experience had taken scarce moments. Tifa fidgeted as her stomach felt odd. The last time she felt anything like this had been on a rollercoaster at the Gold Saucer. More moments; the sensation did not seem to be stopping any time soon. And she was not actually sitting on her seat anymore. She was floating.

"Welcome to space kids!" Cid shouted.

Shera unbuckled herself and pushed herself over to the two of them, catching handholds with nimble grace. "You both okay?" she asked.

"I think so," Tifa said. She took a deep breath and held it, willing herself not to be ill.

Shera grinned. "You'll get used to it in no time. Right, Cloud?"

He grimaced. "Hopefully."

Shera undid their harnesses and guided them both to handholds. "Take in the view while we get things sorted." She shot them another grin and pushed herself back towards the controls. Tifa gripped the handhold as she floated. A bit like swimming. Without the water. She turned to the nearest window; the Planet floated beside them, vaster than she might have imagined. Bugenhagen had once shown Avalanche their world from out in space, but his holograms paled in comparison to seeing it for herself. Rocket Town must be down there somewhere.

Tifa pushed herself from the bulkhead, aimed at the other side of the rocket. If one side faced the Planet, then the other- Her movement was slower than Shera's; something to bear in mind for future - she needed to push with more force. The view was of a sea of stars beyond anything she had ever seen before. The skies in Nibelheim had always seemed clear contrasted to MIdgar where the perpetual haze over the city hid what little the plates did not.

But even the remote reaches of the far North had not allowed for a sight like this. Familiar stars shone with a remarkable intensity. There were far more than she could ever see from the ground. Cloud thumped against the bulkhead beside her a moment later and she took his hand again. Together they stared out into the infinite universe.


	7. Turks-99

_Written for the prompt 'Zootopia AU' suggested by Nautilusopus._

* * *

Tifa took a deep breath and stepped out onto the Midgar streets. Finally. She had finally made it into the Turks. Finally made it through all the training, the tests, the sleepless nights. Finally she had her dream job. And it had been worth every obstacle, every difficulty and every objection along the way; she had pushed through them all and succeeded.

As Midgar grew, the jurisdiction of each village comprising the city became increasingly vague. The construction of the upper plates forced the issue; did a village's authority extend upwards in a vertical column, or was the plate considered a new settlement in it's own right? Many heated debates followed and lead to the creation of the Turks; trained and deployed by the Shinra corporation to go where the localized police force could not - thanks to archaic pacts between the old villages.

Agreements between the newly named sectors allowed a local authority to remain technically in charge but also granted the Turks leave to operate everywhere without treading on any toes. No longer could a criminal commit a crime in one village - sorry, sector - and flee to an adjacent region with effective impunity. No longer were the upper plates a confusing mess of authority; the Turks stood above all others when necessary. Necessity soon overwhelmed other concerns and funding for localised authorities evaporated. The Turks were soon all that remained; their oaths publicly pledged to the city. Some in Midgar where unwilling to trust them still and many rumours suggested the Turks were far from impartial. Persistent whispers claimed they were beholden to the corporate interests of the Shinra corporation above the populace.

A damaging and persistent rumour. And one Tifa would change no matter how many feathers that ruffled at headquarters.

Her first assignment was nothing too arduous. She needed to be visible in the streets and help people as required. And under no account was she to avoid calling in back-up if she ran into anything resembling a dangerous incident. No baptism of fire for her, though such a thing would not have been a surprise for an organisation with the Turk's reputation. No slum duty as yet; her beat was the upper plate where the streets were generally clean and there was at least a sense of open air. She had visited the gloom below once and was not desperate to return anytime soon.

The day was slow and somewhat prosaic at first. A few people stopped to ask her for directions; despite her newness in the city, Tifa had memorised street maps as best she could and advised as far as she was able. A stern look deterred a few litter-bugs and the odd jay-walker. But no muggings, no robberies (and no one in a stripped shirt with a bag slung over one shoulder with a gil on the side either. How disappointing). And thankfully no murders. This would work; the people here were not so bad. Unless- Was this the upper plate and the slums something altogether different? Boredom and frustration might be in short supply below; perhaps she would be eager to return to such a calm working day in the future.

She rounded a corner and stopped. The blond man was not doing anything obviously untoward. He was perhaps a year older than Tifa. Blue eyes and generally good looking - in a cute way. Not why she took notice however; the Wutainese girl who accompanied him was far more unusual. The Turk training with reference to other cultures had been brief, but had stressed a few things. Not least Tseng's heritage, the theoretical links to a foreign power and the slight awkwardness resulting from that. But despite the man's prominence in the organisation, few other people of his ethnic background came to the city. The memories of the war and it's outcome ran deep.

Tifa took her eyes off the pair for a moment to direct another lost citizen. When she looked back, the man had set up a folding table and was inviting passer's by to participate in a card game. She narrowed her eyes; this trick was familiar. The rigged game ensured the customer would win at first but then- The customer won. Exactly as expected. She headed over to the table as the customer won his second round. The stakes would be triple or nothing now. The customer won again. And now the blond blinked in surprise. He congratulated the man, gave him his money and called for a new player. Tifa kept an eye on the customer until he vanished into the crowd. No one seemed to be pursuing or lurking with an intent to mug him or anything.

Was this some kind of weird philanthropy? The second customer won as well as the first. Was this illegal? The blond appeared to be on the level; the times he won surprised him as much as the customers. Unusual. An honest gambler? Wait. The girl. Where was she? She was near the table but not standing with the blond. Instead she was slipping back and forth through the increasingly large crowd. And not watching the game; the girl was keeping a close eye on bags and pockets. So that was the trick. Tifa muttered under her breath and strode towards the crowd. "Stop this game immediately!"

The sight of Tifa in her black suit spooked the crowd and they hurried from the table in all directions. The girl went with them; her fingers slipping out from a bag as she hurried alongside the others. Pursue her? Or go for her partner? He was still right beside her. With wide eyes and a smile. "Good day, ma'am. Can I ask what I was going wrong?" Those blue eyes were incredible this close.

"You kept the crowd distracted while your partner stole from them," she said in a blunt tone.

The man's eyes got bigger and his grin vanished. "I must protest ma'am." He glanced to either side of him with exaggerated movements. "I work alone."

"Nice try." Tifa shot him a tight smile. "I saw the two of you walking together."

"Together?" The man's brow furrowed. "Oh! You must mean that sweet orphan from Wutai. Poor thing. Out on the streets and with nowhere to go. She sleeps in a run down church in the slums you know." Tifa opened her mouth to reply, but the blond kept on going. "I can see why it might have looked like the two of us were together. She was desperate and very persistent with her humble request." He clasped his hands over his heart. "Her pleas moved me, but alas I could do nothing for her."

There was a chance - a slim chance - the man was telling the truth. A tiny, tiny chance. Hard to give it much merit though. "I don't believe you. You'd better come with me."

"Am I under arrest?"

"No. Not yet. But-"

"Then I think I will refuse." The man's attitude changed and those amazing blue eyes now had a cunning look to them. His smile was more of a knowing grin. "As far as I am familiar with the city ordinances, I am under no obligation to go anywhere with you unless you actively arrest me." His grin widened. "And I'm not clear what I could even be charged with. Care to enlighten me?"

He was good. He was very good. Something like a film cliche though. The only people who ever seemed to retort with such confidence were those who knew exactly where they stood and arranged the current situation accordingly. Which meant he was definitely guilty but knew she had nothing on him. Clever. A cunning scheme too; lose money to bring in the crowd and then use the girl to perhaps get the loss and other loot back while he distracted the punters. Near impossible to prove; at least currently. "Fine. Stay out of trouble." She walked away as he collapsed the table and grumbled about Turks scaring off his customers.

"It was nice meeting you though!" The man called.

Tifa turned back. The man was still smiling at her. "I'm keeping my eye on you," she said and strode away in the direction the girl headed. While the man might be difficult to pin a crime on, the girl would have a hard time excusing any stolen wallets found in her possession.


End file.
